Pours black and looks like carbonated coffee with a tan head. Aroma is of caramel, coffee, alcohol, and a bit of nuts. There is a light malty aroma too. Alcohol is very prevalent in the brew. It overshadows a lot of the other flavors. There is a slight chocolate coffee flavor but the alcohol masks it.

Poured into a plastic cup at Sydney's while walking around the French Quarter

Appearance: brown/black color with a 1 finger head that sticks around.

Smell: caramel, chocolate, alcohol

Taste: coffee, chocolate, with a hint of anise. A slight fruity finish. A very smooth yet complex stout. Didn't realize the ABV was so high; no wonder I was feeling so mellow.

Mouthfeel: medium, creamy, good carbonation

Overall: The guy at Sydney's said if I liked Old Rasputin, I'd enjoy this stout. It definately ain't Old Raspy, but it's got an easy drinkability like OR. Bold but enjoyable. And all the way from Sri Lanka, no less. A fine sipper while watching the Mississippi River roll on by.

Taste - One of the beers I blindly picked in my first ever mix and match craft 6 pack, around 2003, and the one I truly enjoyed. Drank many times, now founded in 22 Oz bottle, and realized I've never reviewed. Taste starts off with roasted malts, some milk stout like chocolate creamy flavor. Coffee and chocolate are noticeable. Some sour/bitter raisin and plum come out after the first flavor of malts. Some smokey, oaked flavors are also present. Nice mix of brown sugar/molasses adds some flavor.

Mouthfeel - Malts are the main flavor, along with some coffee and chocolate, they coat the tongue. Some bitter fruits and added sugars cover the palate. The aftertaste is a little sour, chocolate and coffee, and a little sweet.

Overall - Just as solid and pleasant to drink as it was years ago. Its for sure not as tasty as some of the stouts offered nowadays but the sentimental value, 4.99$ for a 22ozer, makes it a winner. It is a little thin by todays standards but still its a quality drink, and something ill be enjoying for the rest of my life.

M&D: Heavy mouthfeel and full bodied. Very light but persistent carbonation goes well with the favors and heaviness at hand. At 8% I was expecting some warming but didn't really experience any. Goes down pretty smoothly.

Pours very dark and clear with a brown head. No strong smells here, picked up on roasted barley a little bit. Flavor was a pleasant surprise, sweet and malty. Light carbonation in the mouth that almost seems to turn into a milky consistency. Roasty and almost chocolatey. Dangerously easy to drink for a beer of this gravity, which is well masked throughout. A fantastic beer that will not disappoint.

A 12-ounce bottle served in a LaTrappe goblet that poured thick and completely opaque, leaving a somewhat thin, but beatiful dense layer of foam that stayed put for several minutes. I think to myself that this is going to a dense stout. I am right. The aroma is of heavy with cocoa and espresso. The first sip is sweet and smooth, with cocoa and/or dark chocolate up front, followed by more cocoa notes laced with bitter espresso. There's more bitterness mixed with dark rum flavors towards the finish which is long and warming. Nice lacework is left on the sides of my glass as I continue to sip this beer. The carbonaton is a bit high and detracts a bit from the quality of this beer, but overall an excellent, potent stout that is sweet without being too sweet.

Virtually jet black. Mountainous, stiff, dogged, light bister head yields lace. Notions of dark chocolate covered prune and singed molasses candy upfront in aroma. Wafts of burnt barley and dark lovibond caramel are secondary. In flavor, incipient is a soft, milky note of light roast coffee mocha. Sharper notes of raisin and bitter chocolate ensue mid palate along with sweeter tones of treacle and burnt brownie. Roasted grain along with moderate hop bitterness fully dry the profile, especially considering the high attenuation. Dangerously, this is almost thirst quenching. Softens again late, with ashen milk chocolate hints yielding to the pleasantly warm, cleanly burnt finish. A well crafted, nearly spot on export stout. Lacks the "beefy" character of US microbrewed stouts of the same alcohol content, but agreeably so in that regard. Dry and satiating. Excellent drinkability. Thanks to Bighuge for this one.

Lion Stout pours a dark, opaque, espresso brown, with a light brown creamy head. The scent is surprisingly minimal with the rich flavor that follows. Chocolate, coffee, sweet malt, hops and a moderate duration of fine tingling on the tongue. It finishes smooth.

This is a very reasonably priced, relatively complex but, very drinkable stout. What is most surprising is that it is from Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Starts sweet with a hint of molasses, cocoa and coffee. Mid-palate dries out a bit and bitters a bit as well, with notes of blackberries and dark chocolate. On the finish is a lovely roasted malt bitterness and just a hint of mocha.

This is a very nice stout. It's not great, but at $ 7.99/6 Pack it might become a regular around the house.

Presentation: 330 ml bottle with freshness date printed on the bottle (Best before September 2009).

Appearance: The pour is basically jet-black - held up against the light it reveals only small deep red hues. The liquid seems clear. The head is about 3 cm - bigger than expected and certainly bigger than many stouts - and its color is one shade darker than your ordinary cappuccino. It's a very thick and creamy head - almost reminiscent of a nitro-carbonated brew - and it stays for a while before settling into a ring of lacings. I must say, this beer looks very good.

Smell: Some quite powerful aromas of dark fruits - mostly black currants - and milk chocolate hit the nose. Plenty of roasted malts and coffee are there as well. A faint nutty aroma - perhaps of cashew nuts of almonds - finishes off the smell, which I enjoyed quite a bit, of this one.

Taste: More dark fruits and notes of ripe red apples blend with molasses for a big sweet flavor. Roasted malts are also rather assertive. There is also a somewhat unusual chocolate character present - consisting of a mix of both bitter and sweet chocolate flavors. In the slightly bitter finish, there is a small twang from the alcohol, a sweet taste of toffee and gentle hops. Towards the end, when the beer warms up, the chocolate flavor becomes more prominent. Overall, this one tastes good, but not extraordinary. It has a nice balance between some of the usual flavors found in a stout, and some flavors are even quite big and powerful - almost trying to enter the domain of imperial stouts.

Mouthfeel: Heavier on the carbonation and a bit livelier than I had anticipated. Semi-full (not medium though) body. Towards the end, it gets a little smoother.

Drinkability: This is a very good beer, but as already noted, not extraordinary. It looks and smells really good - the smell actually outweighs the taste, which is a bit of a disappointment. Somehow, it feels smaller than it actually is - the alcohol hides really well - but I don't know whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. However, irrespective of this, it's highly recommended and I would definitely try it again if it was offered to me, but I wouldn't make any huge efforts trying to get a hold of it.

Pours completely black with a two-finger dark tan head. The head recedes into a thin pancake on top leaving decent lacing.

Smells of roasted malts, molasses, and dark chocolate, in that order. As it warms the chocolate aromas intensify.

Tastes similar to how it smells. The roasted malt flavors are not quite as strong as the aroma led me to believe as they give way to molasses and dark chocolate flavors fairly quickly. The ending has a nice bitterness but also manages to leave a sweet malt aftertaste.

Mouthfeel is good. It's a bit on the thin side but still manages to go down smoothly.

Drinkability is good. I had no problem finishing the bottle and could have a few more, even with the 8% ABV.

Overall this is a very solid stout, comparable to a strong Milk Stout. Worth a shot.

A: Completely dark black. As it poured from the can, it gave the impression of syrupy liquid flowing out. Large, light caramel colored head which initially produced really nice lacing but then died out pretty fast.

Pours a dark black with brownish reddish hues. Large, creamy tan head develops leaving some messy lace on the glass.
Aroma of caramel, roasted barley and some over-ripe dark fruits like prunes.
Flavor is sweet mocha and caramel and maybe some honey or molasses in the back.
Mouthfeel is very thick, smooth malt starts that transitions to spicy bitter finish with some hints of oxidation or metallic hint.
Drinkability is fairly high, very nice beer.

I poured into a pint glass to three fingers of light brown head. I would say that it is black except for the tinge of dark brown around the edges. The aroma is sweet chocolate and dark fruit (plum). The taste mirrors the smell up front, but the roasted malts come more into play. There is just a slight bitterness that offsets the sweetness. It is not a great stout but it is good and worth a try.

Pours a black with red highlights showing thru, sporting a big fluffy head

Aroma is soft roasted malts hints of chocolate and coffee.

Taste is nice roasted malts with soft chocolate and a decent coffee flavors that seem to leave a bitterness that is like a cheap coffee bitterness, more so then hops. No hints of the 8% it is smooth easy drinking and tasty.

Mouthfeel seems a little light for a stout but carbonation levels are good. Plus side it is smooth and tasty.

Drinkability is good an enjoyable enough stout. Want to thank wcudwight for this sample.

Lion Stout poured a dark almost totally black except for some garnet color highlights when it is hit by light. The head formed was 1 3/4 fingers, dense, bubbly and mocha colored with light clingy lacing left behind as consumed. The nose is lighter than expected, dominated by roasted dark malts and chocolate. The taste is stronger than the nose, also dominated by roasted dark malt with sweet notes of chocolate and coffee. The finish is on the sweet side and a little dry. Mouth feel is smooth and medium bodied with the alcohol well hidden making good drinkability.

Lion Stout is my first taste of the foreign/export stout style. This ale has made me a fan!...I'll have another.